How to Host Without Stress and Exhaustion!

House guests – we love’em but we often love’em slightly less by the time they’re due to leave! Not because we fall out with the friends and family who come to visit, it’s simply having anyone extra in the house can be downright exhausting. Yet it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, having folk to stay overnight (or for several nights) can be a total pleasure from start to finish, if only we know how to make it happen. Take a look at our ‘How to Host’ tips below so you can look forward, with confidence, to the arrival of your next house guests.

Prep slowly or not at all!

The anticipation of house guests should be pleasurable, but it quickly turns to resentment when the days before their arrival are spent cleaning and tidying from dawn to dusk. Instead of tackling a mound of chores to get your whole house looking perfect, focus instead on your guests’ bedroom. Make it an oasis of calm with attractively folded towels on the bed, a little vase of flowers and a fresh magazine on the bedside table, a pretty box of tissues, a scented candle and matches, a dish of mints or small chocolates, water and glasses, a phone charger, and a small fan heater if required. Your guests are much more likely to remember (and appreciate) these generous courtesies than if your fridge is clean and your windows are sparkling!

Make a meal of it

There’s nothing more stressful than preparing a meal while a house guest is wanting to chat. Prepare meals in advance by doubling what you cook for yourself in the week before your guests’ arrival, and freezing the extra for when they arrive.

Bowling up for breakfast

Make it clear early on in your guests’ stay, that breakfast is ‘help yourself’ and doesn’t have a set time (this way, there’s no pressure to gather in the morning at the same hour). Introduce them to the pantry and the crockery drawer, show them where to find what they need to make a hot drink, and be sure to let them know taking breakfast back to bed is perfectly acceptable!

Show them the door (in the nicest possible way)

Everyone needs their own space, and spending all day, every day, with house guests is a recipe for disaster. You can easily solve the problem (and also the chore of organising lunch) when you send your guests out on a walk or a drive to a spot you know they’ll enjoy (while you attend to some essential jobs), and arrange to meet them at a chosen location for lunch. It might be a cafe, or a park where you each bring along a takeaway coffee and a bite to eat.

Out and about

Staying home and staring at four walls together can be stressful. But getting out and about with your guests provides entertainment while also giving you all fresh topics for conversation. Before your guests arrive, look out for some activities you can all enjoy. It might be a visit to an art gallery or public gardens, a day or beach walk, or a round of golf. You might even want to send them out by themselves while you enjoy a quiet moment to yourself!

Share the load

Ongoing one-on-one with a house guest can be stressful, even for the best of friends or family. Share the load by inviting them to one of your regular meet-ups (a walking group or craft/workshop afternoon, for example). They’ll enjoy the activity and the opportunity to chat to others. Note: if inviting a guest along to your regular volunteering stint, be sure to check ahead with staff to see if this is acceptable.

At home entertainment

Making conversation every hour of the day is hard work. Give yourself, and your guests, a break by having some light entertainment on hand. A jigsaw, laid out on a spare table is perfect for whiling away an hour or two, and an at-home movie night creates a great space for everyone to ‘blob out.’

Easy does it

Once your guests have left, don’t rush into a frenzy of cleaning and making up their room. Give yourself a day off by doing something pleasurable. You might even like to consider giving yourself a one-off treat by employing a cleaner for a couple of hours to restore order!

Hosting house guests doesn’t have to be all work and no play. Plan ahead so you all have an enjoyable time together.